MR BARUGH'S LETTER

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2980, 20 August 1891, Page 4

MR BARUGH'S LETTER

TO I'll K KIUTOK. Sim.—Mr Hamuli has truly depicted tin; way New Zealand is heavily handicapped by' the follies of the past. Now, Mr Kditor, tliu past cannot be undone, but the future is before us, and to ovoid more follica it i.s well that the past should be dissected, so as to show where the disease lay in the political body of New Zealand. It would be well that it was understood where the blame lay. The whole follies and worse than follies, the rascalities were not caused by democracy, because democracy was not then a power, nor were these follies and rascalities caused by the few rich people of New Zealand, because the truly rich were not in accord with the helter skelter, political devilment which Mr Barugh shows up as the outcome. 1 will perhaps surprise Mr j liraußh when I tell him that the class who arc to blame for the past follies and political devilment, were the class to which he belongs to. Neither the poor nor the rich are responsible for the leaps and bounds, and from these leaps and bounds we have now dearly to pay the piper. Not only have we to be heavily taxed to pay the interest, but what is a hundred times worse, the bringing in so much money by the scrape of the pen demoralised the people. That the people arc demoralised, and that the politics of New Zealand arc corrupt is the fault wholly and soly of the middle class. Who were the middle class of New Zealand ? They were men many of whom did not then belong to the working class, whatever they were formerly, and though of the middle class they were uot worth a sixpence. There were others of the middle clas3 who were worth a few hundreds, or a few thousands, and unless to the few who knew otherwise, the substantial man and the man of straw could not be separted. To outward appearances they were alike, and alike they were in this,that the policy of the country was to create a fictitious prosperity so that by unearnesl increment they were to make a pile. Now increment by land rising in value for natural and legitimate causes is honestly earned money ; but it is not honestly earned money when caused by political log rolling, that is siding with and supporting" what is wrong, and helping others in wrong, so that these others may help me in what I want. The outcome of this helping yon in wrong and my being helped in wrong, is that all is wrong, and in so log rolling, I am putting a nail in my own coffin. Mr Editor, for the last fifteen years the middle class ha re been putting a nail in their own cotfin. However, Mr Editor, when I say " me." I am only talking figuratively, I do not belong to the middle class. I am now coming to show that Mr Barugh is now doing what has been the cause of what he now complains of. Mr Barugh, in his letter, advocates the rise in the honorarium from £150 to £'240, and he says that for these months the members sit, that they should have what would support them, for the whole year in a becoming style. This saying brings Mr Barugh down to the level of all the other political adventurers of New Zealand. Mr Barngh is a great advocate for Vaile's railway scheme. The scheme of Vaile's would suit Mr Barugh, suit him in this way, that it would put money into his pocket at the same time substracting it from the pockets of others, and those others had no right to be so 3ubstracted from. Well, the members who are in favour of Vaile's scheme arc the members who want and gave themselves the rise in the honorarium. Consequently, Mr Barugh logrolls with those mombers and because they support him ia his wrong he supports and vindicates their wrongdoing. Even supposing Vaile's scheme waa right he was putting a nail in his own collin by having this right at the expense of politics being made a trade of. That Vaile's scheme is wrong six words will conclusively show that it is so : these six words are : If right the scheme would now be. There U notliiu" on earth could Ivive stoppad Vaile's scheme, if right, from being in force one month after it was propounded. Mr Bvnigli will perhaps say that many a eooil scheme has been loni» held Inck ; so there has, but then there were some conflicting interest keeping such schemes In;:k. If Vaile's scheme war, correct, all Now Zealand, Commissioners included, would have hurried tho scheme on. More especially the Commissioners would have hurried it on as it would have been much more pleasant to them personally to have to do with cheap fares and at the samo time a paying railway. As for the saying that the Commissioners are aifunafc the scheme because it would do them out of a billet anyone but a numskull would see that by Vaile's scheme there would need to be commissioners just as there now is. Yours, etc., IIAKAPErE.